More discussion needed on fracking
By Joyce Howerton
SB CAN Executive Director
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors is considering options to address the future demand for hydraulic fracturing — fracking — in the production of oil and natural gas. Supervisors have been reviewing the issue since May, and will address the issue again during a board meeting on Sept. 20.
Fracking recently became an issue locally after Venoco drilled two wells in Los Alamos. Both property owners have told the county they are concerned with environmental impacts.
Gerard and Kathleen Kilgallon are worried that Venoco’s operations will pollute their water supplies. A June 6 letter from the Kilgallon’s attorney, Brian McMahon, states fracking causes risks in underground oil and gas wells, on the surface around the well site, in the transportation of fracking fluids and in disposal wells, and that it uses enormous amounts of fresh water and is much noisier than usual drilling.
He contends the county “has not been sufficiently vigilant in monitoring oil and gas drilling operations and in enforcing its regulations, given the environmental risks that fracking creates.”
Property owner Steve Lyons would like the county to place a moratorium on fracking until regulations prevent contamination of water within 10 miles of the well, the operator states its source of water and proves the quantity, the operator obtains an environmental impact report to ensure the safety of all creeks and endangered species in the vicinity of the wells, possible impacts on seismic activity and chemicals migrating to other wells is studied, the operator discloses what chemicals in what quantities will be used, and other requirements.
Fracking was developed to recover oil from declining oil reservoirs. It has only recently begun to be used to extract oil from low-permeability shale reservoirs.
It involves injecting large volumes of water, sand and specialized chemicals under pressure great enough to fracture the formations holding the oil or gas. The sand holds the fractures open to allow the oil or gas to flow into a production well.
According to the Congressional Research Service in its May 18 report to Congress, the rapid expansion of this practice, along with citizen complaints and state investigations of well-water contamination, has led to calls for greater regulation and oversight. Bills have been introduced in Congress to expand regulation of hydraulic fracturing.
County staff, in a report to the Board of Supervisors, said concerns have been expressed nationwide about a potential release of toxic chemicals or the constituents of the oil and natural gas into surface water, groundwater and the atmosphere; a lack of disclosure of chemicals used in the fracking fluids; a potential increase in seismic activity, including earthquakes, as a result of fracking; the use of large amounts of groundwater; the increase in air emissions related to transport of water and chemicals to and from the wellhead; and a lack of sufficient regulatory oversight.
Staff reported that some of the chemicals used are toxic, including diesel, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, methanol, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol, glycol ether, hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide.
The report also cited a study by scientists at Duke University that supports this concern. It found shallow drinking-water systems near active hydraulic fracturing areas in northeast Pennsylvania and upstate New York had substantially higher levels of methane than more-distant wells.
We encourage you to study this issue, and let the supervisors know your views when they meet again Sept. 20.
Joyce Howerton is executive director of Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN). She can be reached at joyce@sbcan.org or 563-0463. Looking Forward runs every Friday, providing a progressive viewpoint on local issues.
Read printed editorial:
Date:
12 Aug 2011 - 12:00am